The phone call
by BritishAlien
Summary: SPOILERS! Based around rumours and clips of the cast and crew filming the new series of Doctor Who. Clara receives an unexpected phone call.


SPOILERS: based on the scenes filmed on location.

I've seen this theory circulating for a few days now and I just had to give writing it a go. I hope that you enjoy.

-x-x-x-

Their adventure to Victorian London had been eventful to say the least. They had triumphed over an unexpected foe, he had ridden a horse through the cold streets and they had met up with some old friends whose perception of him, although different, was thankfully still much the same. It was one thing in this life so far for which he could be thankful. Coming into contact with those you had known in a previous lifetime could be difficult. Most of the time, everything was fine. They accepted that he was the same man with a different face and way of expressing things. It was just his way. Other times, however, it had been a hard slog to convince those he cared about that he was still the Doctor. Their doubt could taint his perception of himself and that was dangerous territory to stray into. Questions like 'Was he really the Doctor?', 'Did he have the right to fill the shoes of the men who had come before him?' often sprang to mind. They were constant worries, no matter how many times he'd changed and how many times he'd proved himself to be the Doctor. Being the Doctor wasn't about a set of fixed rules. Being the Doctor was about what you make it and in London he felt that he'd at least earned his own approval. This life time had already broken boundaries and was, he hoped, going to bring something new to what it meant to be the Doctor. The only thing to do was to find out what that was going to be. There the adventure lay.

He walked into the console room with a new found sense of purpose. The excitement lay in the uncertainty and his TARDIS was going to help him discover it. There was one thing, however, which drew his attention away from his yet unrealised potential and back to the present. The impossible girl who accompanied him in the console room.

She was watching the central gallopiter rise and fall with sheer awe. The Doctor smiled. He loved watching people's reactions to the TARDIS. She was an unrivalled companion and a true wonder to behold. Even though Clara had been with him for a long time, he was glad that the TARDIS still remained a thing of beauty and spectacle for her. The TARDIS never stopped surprising him. She was truly extraordinary. He was a very lucky Doctor.

He suddenly realised he had not torn his eyes away from Clara and hastily returned his gaze to the control panel which would get them into flight. He was still getting used to the buttons and switches. He recalled that his third life had been forced to forget how to fly the TARDIS. He remembered the feeling of utter confusion looking at the console and the frustration of not being able to fly away as he pleased. It hadn't been a bad time. He had made friends who had stayed with him beyond that life. The Brigadier, Sarah Jane, Benton, Jo… They had all brought hope to his life when he'd been left with a blank page and nowhere to go. That knowledge would come back to him in time, but for now, he had to concentrate on bringing the impossible girl back to him. He could sense that she still wasn't convinced about him.

'So, where are we going next?'

'You're going home.' He replied insistently.

'Home? Why?'

'Well, after what has happened recently, a bit of normality for you wouldn't go amiss, right?' She nodded her approval and the Doctor got to work setting coordinates for Earth. The TARDIS flew effortlessly through space; breaking down the barriers that time held for most others and spearheaded her way to Earth in the 21st century. The Doctor circled the console, checking nothing was glowing mauve, until they landed. The clunk of arrival sounded throughout the room as the TARDIS shuddered to a halt.

'I'm home?'

'Yes. Well, you're a few streets away from where you live. I think…' He said, bringing the console screen around to him and checking the co-ordinates.

'Is this how you're going to get rid of me?'

'Get rid of you? Why would I…' Before the Doctor could finish speaking, Clara felt her phone start to buzz. She pulled it out of her pocket and stared at the screen. There was nothing but an 'Accept call' button. No other information. No number.

'The numbers been withheld. Give me a sec.' She held the phone with caution as if it were about to explode in her hand.

'Your boyfriend?'

'I don't have a boyfriend.' Clara called back as she walked out of the TARDIS doors and closed them behind her. The Doctor watched as she stepped out of sight. He knew exactly who the phone call was from. So this was where the call had turned up. So soon after the change. The Doctor wanted to go and stand by her, but thought he would give her a little time before proving his suspicions.

-x-x-x-

Outside the console room, the hustle and bustle of a high street greeted Clara. She was home. Well, at least somewhere that looked like home. It wasn't an alien planet with swamps and rocks. The buzzing of the phone continued and the intrigue overruled the concern and Clara answered the call. She held the phone up to her ear.

'Hello?' There was no reply, but she could hear breathing. 'Hello?' The street where the TARDIS had landed was loud and so she tried to block the noise out by covering her other ear. She had walked away from the TARDIS and now stood in the doorway of a boarded up shop. It was certainly quieter, but there was still the risk of interruption. The breathing continued.

'Clara.' The voice wheezed. A voice she recognised. One that she had thought she'd lost forever. 'I'm back in the TARDIS. Come quickly. Let's leave this place in memory.' The voice lingered and for a moment, Clara didn't know whether to believe that the voice was real. She was almost convinced it was a trick, but one which she would happily fall into if it promised contact with the happy past.

'Doctor?' She asked hesitantly.

'Expecting someone else?' He asked in his usual jovial manner.

'I wasn't expecting anyone. What are you doing?'

'At this precise moment, I'm leaning against the console room door calling you and wondering why I can hear a car alarm going off. Where are you?' The Doctor had been slouched against the TARDIS door trying to remember Clara's number, but at the sound of the car alarm, he pulled himself up, trapping the phone between his head and shoulder. He needed every bit of strength he had just to sit up right. This new regeneration was galloping towards him like wild fire.

'I'm back home.'

'What the hell are you doing there? I told you to stay in the tower with Barnable and the others.'

'I did.' At this, the new Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, making sure the door was firmly shut behind him. Clara only heard the door slam. She didn't dare look up in case she was dragged out of this impossible conversation. She couldn't lose the chance to be speaking to her Doctor.

'Who is it? Is that the Doctor?' The new Doctor's cool Scottish tones drifted towards her and could be picked up over the phone back on Trenzalore. The penny dropped, she heard the phone clunk to the floor for a few seconds before it was picked up again. The Doctor back on Trenzalore was considering what to say. Something that wouldn't make this situation awkward.

'So…I'm Scottish? Well there's a turn up for the books. Amy would have a field day. Am I ginger?' A light hearted sorrow laced his words. She could tell he was putting on a forced smile. That face which showed the universe he was okay when everything around him was dark. Clara didn't dare reply. 'Come on, Clara. You are with me, aren't you?'

'No.' Clara whispered, feeling tears lurking around her eyes.

'You know what I mean?' The Doctor spat back. The new Doctor had been watching Clara from the safe distance of the TARDIS. This conversation wasn't going to be easy on her. Maybe just being near her would make her feel better or at least make him feel like he was trying. She didn't reply again. 'Clara! You've seen my faces and you know I change when I die. That man standing with you _is_ the Doctor.'

'He can't be.' The new Doctor hesitantly walked closer to Clara. He stood next to her, remembering being the man on the other side of the phone call. It was so strange watching your past play out in front of you. A memory that he had forgotten about had suddenly been given life and here he was seeing the other side of it. When he'd called her, a whole life time ago, he never imagined what the other end of the phone call looked like. He couldn't see her physical reactions and he couldn't comfort her. Now he had the opportunity to see what his mistake had done and it was painful. He wanted to help her in whatever way he could, but this was the last time she ever got to speak to his past self. What he said was important. It wasn't this man's place to intrude. The final whispers of his last life were dying out. Somewhen, he was about to die and that was happening right now. It was only right that he allowed the two who still lived in that memory the respect they deserved.

'Life depends on change and renewal, Clara. Everything seems so different and unusual, but you'll come to see that different isn't bad. Different is exciting. It's a new opportunity for both you and I…him…to be amazing.' The Doctor's voice danced down the phone line. Clara could sense the excitement in his voice. He was so excited about what was to come for him. His enthusiasm was infectious.

'I miss you.' Clara whispered down the phone line. She had never really had the chance to say goodbye to him. If this was the only chance she would get, she would grab it.

'I won't leave you, Clara. I'm right there beside you.' Clara allowed her eyes to flicker towards the new Doctor. He knew what this conversation was. His face was filled with concern and sadness, but he was staying back. At least she could be thankful for small mercies. 'Embrace every new day, Clara. For me?' She could hear him smile down the phone. How could she say no to him?

'I promise.' She whispered, holding in a tear.

'Thank you, my impossible girl. Goodbye, Clara. Safe journey.' The phone sounded like it had been dropped and she could just hear some struggling footsteps walking away from the ear piece. Clara remembered finding the phone off the hook when she had walked into the TARDIS back on Trenzalore. The memory of that time seemed like it had been so long ago, but it had only been a few hours, if that. It's funny how memory both serves and condemns us. Clara switched the phone off and stared at the screen. That had been the Doctor before she'd walked into the TARDIS. That had been the man she wished she'd been there for. The last time she ever got to speak to him and she never told him that she loved him. She suddenly realised how close the new Doctor was standing to her.

'Clara?'

'What?' She dragged her attention away from the last new memories she'd make with her Doctor and turned to face the new man. His face was filled with inquisitive concern.

'I'm sorry.' His crisp Scottish accent was filled with his true intentions. He really was sorry.

'For what?'

'The call. It was meant to reach you whilst we were on Trenzalore. I had no idea it would call you here and now. Something dodgy with the handset I suppose.' Excuses. He shouldn't have called her.

'You don't need to apologise. It wasn't you. It was the Doctor.'

'And I am the Doctor.' The Doctor turned away. The frustration of this was getting to him. How could he convince her that he was the same man? Was there any point in doing so?

'You can't be him.'

'I said I would never leave you. Well? Have I?' Clara didn't know how to respond, but her eyes said it all. He hadn't left her. Not really. 'Yeah, that's right.' The Doctor turned and headed towards the TARDIS. He turned back to see if she was following him. She hadn't moved. 'I'm not on the phone. I'm here standing in front of you.' He waved his arms like a magician revealing a magic trick. He was there for her if she needed him. He had stayed with her when he could have easily left her and ran away. He hadn't. There was something keeping him there. It was out of duty to his past self and to his future. He could not let that down. Clara stared straight at him. Then, after a few seconds of uncertainty, she walked slowly towards him. Her eyes were enquiring and large. The Doctor stood stock still. Unblinking. Not moving. Clara examined his face. She took a step to each side of him to examine every facet of his new look. It was different. It was unexpected. It was the Doctor.

'It is you.' She smiled, the tears bubbling up in her eyes. She didn't want this man to see her cry, not yet. His gaze was so powerful. She jumped at him, throwing her arms around his neck and holding on tight. The Doctor didn't know how to react. Should he hug her back? Could he? He hadn't anticipated the hug and he didn't know whether he was quite ready for it. He still needed to work out how he could interact with Clara. It could never be as it was with his past self. He had to find a new way to be him, but for now he'd allow her to get it out of her system. After a few seconds, Clara pulled away and dusted herself off.

'I'm hungry.' Clara said, staring off into the distance.

'Now there's a good idea.' The Doctor was famished. He hadn't eaten in a lifetime.

'So…where are we really?' Clara enquired. After a closer inspection, she realised that she didn't recognise where they were.

'Glasgow.' The Doctor admitted. He had tried.

'Sounds about right. You are Scottish after all.'

'We should go and get…We can find some…Chips?' A memory sprang to mind. After the first whirl wind adventure, they had gone for chips. He knew he had been one of them, but who was the other?

'Yeah, sure. You're buying!' Clara said as she turned to face the high street of Glasgow. There had to be a chip shop somewhere. What kind of respectable place didn't have a chip shop?

'I don't have any money.' The Doctor said following after her.

'Alright, chips are on me.' She laughed. They linked arms and walked away in their hunt for food.

-x-x-x-

Thank you for reading. x


End file.
